Chapter 315 Life Detector
The temperature is extremely low.
It was about ten degrees below zero.
Cheng Wanwan wrapped herself in many layers of clothing before going out, but a gust of wind blew by and she still felt cold.
The village head was buried, and his wife kept crying. Only she could step forward to take charge. She ordered all the women to stay in the village to avoid making any noise that could trigger a second avalanche. All the men in the village who were over sixteen years old had to come and help.
The narrow path is about fifty meters long, and it is unknown exactly where the three people were buried. We need to dig slowly from one end to the other.
Cheng Wanwan said in a low voice, "Let's begin."
Wang Yongcheng and his patrol team started shoveling snow without saying a word.
Although they had a large number of people, the space was too narrow, only accommodating ten people digging snow at a time.
When the first group gets tired, the next group is immediately replaced.
Cheng Wanwan stood to the side, glancing at the pocket watch hidden in her sleeve every now and then. In five minutes, she had only dug less than ten meters.
Time is life. Every minute that is wasted reduces the chances of survival for the three people by many times.
Cheng Wanwan went to a secluded spot and bought an infrared life detection device from the mall. This kind of thing is already used in all walks of life in modern times and is no longer a rare thing. It cost more than ten taels of silver. She carefully read the instruction manual and knew roughly how to use it.
The thing was about 30 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide, and she simply covered it up with her cloak.
"Dashan, Sanniu, you two come and help me up."
Cheng Wanwan kept her voice as low as possible, not daring to disturb the forest.
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu put down their tools and came over to help her. She took a step and started climbing up the snowdrift, protecting the things in her arms with both hands, and had her two sons pull her up.
Without asking what they were going to do, Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu used all their strength to protect Cheng Wanwan and carry her to the top of the snowdrift.
"You two turn your backs and block the view of the people below."
As soon as Cheng Wanwan spoke, the two of them did as she said, turning around to completely shield her behind them.
She quickly took out what she was holding, took out the search probe, and peered into the narrow gap in the snowdrift.
The survey area is within two meters in all directions. This snowdrift is about two or three meters high. Putting it in will allow us to see the bottom.
There was no response at the first place, so Cheng Wanwan had her two sons help her continue walking inside.
Perhaps it was good luck, or perhaps it was because the village head Cheng Zhao and Afu were not destined to die, but as soon as she put the probe in, a beeping sound rang out.
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu turned around abruptly.
In that instant, Cheng Wanwan stored the infrared life detector in her spatial storage cabinet.
She said slowly, "I heard Zhao'er calling for help right down here. You all need to go down quickly and bring people to dig here."
Was that my cousin's cry for help?
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu both looked puzzled, but they weren't the type to pry, so they didn't think much of it and rolled down the snowdrift.
Those below were already drenched in sweat from exhaustion. When the snow wind blew, their soaked clothes seemed to freeze. The alternation of heat and cold caused some people to sneeze and have runny noses, making them feel extremely uncomfortable.
"My mother heard the cries for help over there!"
Zhao Dashan, panting, said in a low voice, picked up his hoe, and started climbing up the snowdrift.
The hundreds of patrol members behind them ignored the cold and quickly followed. Those who had not joined the patrol rushed forward recklessly to show their bravery and daring. Dozens of people formed a circle to dig in the snow. When they got tired, they took over from the next group. In less than three minutes, they had dug a large pit.
A hand emerged from the snowdrift.
"I almost died here!" The village head grabbed the snow and pushed upwards with all his might, his head popping out. His tongue was frozen, and he spoke incoherently, "Quick, pull me out, Cheng, Zhao and Afu are still down there."
With Wang Yongcheng and Zhao Shagen pulling together, the village head was pulled out. He had been buried in the snow for more than ten minutes, his clothes were frozen, and he was so stiff that his fingers could not bend.
Bao Hongmang, a resident of Xindahe Village, took off his winter coat and draped it over the village head's shoulder.
The people on this side continued digging, and soon Cheng Zhao and Afu were also pulled out of the snow pit. Afu was still conscious, but Cheng Zhao, being a scholar, had a poor constitution and had already fainted.
Cheng Wanwan took off her rabbit fur cloak and wrapped it around Cheng Zhao: "Dashan, carry Zhao'er on your back and hurry back."
Zhao Dashan first carried Cheng Zhao as they rolled down the snowdrift, with someone below to catch them and prevent them from getting hurt. Then he carried Cheng Zhao on his back and rushed home as fast as he could.
"Mother, wear my clothes."
Zhao Sanniu took off his clothes and gave them to Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan wasn't being coy; her health was indeed a bit poor, and if she got sick, it would probably take her half a month to recover.
She wrapped her clothes tighter around herself and said, "Everyone, grab your tools and get out of here right now."
This place is a wind gap, with the mountains on both sides facing the wind. This location is most prone to avalanches. Today it was just a small avalanche, with only about one-twentieth of the snow falling. There is still a lot more snow on top, and it could suddenly break through and slide down at any time.
Zhao Sanniu escorted Cheng Wanwan ahead, while Wang Yongcheng and three or four patrol members followed behind, protecting the village head and Afu. The remaining people were cleaning up the snow shovels on the snow.
"Squeak—squeak—"
Cheng Wanwan heard the wind blowing through the gaps and the sound of the snow breaking.
She heard it, and naturally, everyone else heard it too.
Having learned from experience, these people no longer had time to look up and observe the sky. With all their might, they pulled each other forward and leaped hard, falling to the ground.
Splash!
Rumble!
Large swaths of snow crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
Cheng Wanwan was tackled by Zhao Sanniu, and some icy snow splattered on the back of her head, causing her a sharp pain.
Ignoring the pain, she quickly stood up and looked back to see that all the snow on both mountains had slid off, and this avalanche reached a height of more than ten meters.
If I were buried by this snow, I would definitely die.
She hurriedly said, "Wang Yongcheng, quick, count the number of people!"
Wang Yongcheng nodded, first calling out the group leader's name, and then the group leader counted the team members. The whole process took less than two minutes.
"We're still missing one person!" Wang Yongcheng's face turned pale. "Where's Shagen? Where is he?!"
Zhao Yougui went completely mad: "Shagen! My Shagen, if you hear me, answer me!"
Almost all the snow on the mountain had collapsed, so it didn't matter if people spoke loudly at this time, and Cheng Wanwan didn't stop them.
Zhao Yougui called out several times, tears streaming down his face, kneeling on the ground and wailing. He only had one son, and if he died, he wouldn't want to live anymore...
"Father...I'm here..."
Just then, a faint voice rang out, and Zhao Shagen crawled out of the shallow snowdrift beside him with a smile on his face.
With a forceful pull of his right hand, he yanked a hoe out. "Our family just made this new hoe; we can't leave it lying in the snow..."
He was a step too slow because he was trying to save the hoe.
"You stupid idiot, is a hoe worth more than you?" Zhao Yougui picked him up, kicked him a few times, wiped away his tears, and said, "I'll teach you a lesson when we get back!"
Cheng Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief: "It's too cold here. Everyone, hurry back and drink some hot ginger soup so you don't get sick again."
She rushed back and saw Zhao Dashan preparing to carry Cheng Zhao onto the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed). She quickly stopped him, saying, "He's frozen stiff. He can't be suddenly heated. Put him on this bed and quickly boil some water and make ginger soup."
She had Zhao Ergou take off Cheng Zhao's wet clothes, change him into clean undergarments, and then cover him with a thick quilt. At the same time, she had Ergou give Cheng Zhao a full-body massage to promote blood circulation...
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